Reading Matters

Why do people care so much about reading?

This sounds like a silly question. Of course people care about reading. They care about it because it's important, and what's more, we have a pretty good idea of why it's important. Reading well is an important skill, one that is all but indispensable in contemporary knowledge economies. An interest in reading correlates strongly with career success: studies show that the habit of reading for pleasure in adolescence is “associated with a significantly improved percentage of entering a professional or managerial job.” Recent research is shedding light on why. Psychologists have discovered that reading fiction sharpens the ability to interpret other people's moods and attitudes, an ability with obvious value in the workplace. Reading also seems politically important. It seems plausible that people who are in the habit of reading critically are likely to be better informed citizens than those who do not, and for this reason, Paulo Freire calls reading a “clearly political practice.” Finally, of course, reading is a source of great enjoyment for many people. Though there is some evidence that reading is on the decline— a 2018 study by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics found that the number of Americans reading for pleasure fell by roughly 30 percent since 2004— other studies offer a rosier view. The National Endowment for the Arts, for instance, has found that the number of Americans reading for pleasure actually rose significantly from 2002 to 2008. In any case, no one can deny that those who do read for pleasure are more enthusiastic and more visible than ever. Signs of their enthusiasm— from the popularity of celebrity book clubs to “mass reading events” such as Canada Reads and Read Across America— are everywhere. Given all this, it seems silly to ask why people care about reading. Reading is an invaluable tool with clear practical benefits.

But is this a good answer? The practical benefits of reading may explain why people care about reading at all. But they don't explain how much manypeople care about it, or the precise ways in which they care about it. To many people, reading isn't just a useful tool, and reading well isn't the same sort of skill as driving well or being able to operate one's smartphone.